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Kane suffers heavy defeat on Bayern debut, Mbappé-less PSG held in Ligue 1 opener

In Spain, Jude Bellingham scored on his Real Madrid debut as they saw off Athletic Bilbao.

Bayern 0-3 Leipzig

HARRY KANE ENDURED a losing debut with Bayern Munich on Saturday when his new team crashed to a 3-0 defeat by RB Leipzig in the German Super Cup, just hours after the England skipper sealed a move from Tottenham.

Dani Olmo was the star of the show, producing a virtuoso performance and scoring a hat-trick in Munich as Kane’s wait for team silverware continued.

Kane came on as a 64th-minute substitute with Bayern already trailing 2-0 but soon after Olmo completed his hat-trick.

The record England goalscorer joined from Tottenham for a fee in excess of €100 million earlier on Saturday.

Bayern fans had lined up hours before kick-off to get their ‘Kane 9′ shirts printed at the club store.

Kane, who was given the number nine shirt previously vacated by Robert Lewandowski, had indicated on social media that he was “feeling good” and “looking forward to the match” after taking part in his first training session as a new Bayern player.

But he couldn’t turn the tide as Leipzig were awarded a penalty three minutes after his introduction.

Olmo converted the spot-kick to seal a first Super Cup title for Marco Rose’s side.

Kane, who has lost three finals with Tottenham and one with England, must wait for his first ever trophy.

Leipzig had earlier stunned the Allianz Arena, taking the lead inside three minutes.

David Raum’s free-kick wasn’t dealt with by Bayern and Olmo calmly stroked the ball beyond Sven Ulreich.

The goal shook the hosts into action and Bayern’s best chances of the first half were crafted by Serge Gnabry and spurned by French teenager Mathys Tel.

The best of them came after a beautiful reverse pass by Gnabry that sent Tel clean through but he could only shoot straight at Leipzig goalkeeper Janis Blaswich.

Things went from bad to worse for Bayern when Olmo scored a fabulous second to double Leipzig’s advantage a couple of minutes before half-time.

The Spaniard’s deft pivot around Bayern defender Matthijs de Ligt allowed him the space to slot it calmly beyond Ulreich.

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Real Madrid

Jude Bellingham scored on his triumphant Real Madrid debut in a 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in their opening La Liga match.

Despite concerns at both ends of the pitch, Carlo Ancelotti’s side earned a convincing victory at the San Mames to kick off their title bid, with Rodrygo Goes opening the scoring.

Madrid, who lost Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema to big-money Saudi football in the summer, are still heavily linked to Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe as a replacement, as the transfer saga drags on.

Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo worked well as a strike duo, with Bellingham in the No 10 role at the tip of a diamond midfield offering ample support.

Los Blancos goalkeeper Andriy Lunin started in place of regular stopper Thibaut Courtois, who is set to miss the majority of the season with a cruciate ligament injury.

The Ukrainian was solid, although he may soon be behind Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in the pecking order, with the Spaniard set to join on loan according to various reports.

Ancelotti, who will take over the Brazilian national team at the end of this campaign, handed defender Fran Garcia his second Madrid debut after his return from Rayo Vallecano.

However it was Bellingham’s name that stood out and the 20-year-old demonstrated why Madrid paid over 100 million euros ($110 million) for him.

Madrid took the lead before the half-hour mark when Dani Carvajal hooked the ball back to Rodrygo, who slotted past Unai Simon at his near post.

The goalkeeper managed to force David Alaba’s header onto the post and thwarted Vinicius after he burst into the box, but Bellingham soon added Madrid’s second.

The England international netted in unorthodox fashion, volleying Alaba’s corner into the ground and over Simon.

Bellingham stood still, facing the home fans with arms wide in celebration, as if announcing his arrival to La Liga — drawing a rebuke from Athletic captain Iker Muniain.

The midfielder nearly carved out another for Rodrygo with an inviting cross, but the Brazilian narrowly failed to make contact with an attempted bicycle kick.

Former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde made a triple change at half-time to try and pull Athletic back into the game.

Madrid were forced into a change themselves early in the second half when Eder Militao hurt his knee and was replaced by Antonio Rudiger.

Bellingham continued to impress in the second half, bursting forward from deep into dangerous territory, but the move eventually broke down.

Wearing former Madrid midfielder Zinedine Zidane’s number five, the former Birmingham City man started as he means to go on.

Vinicius, making his first away appearance in La Liga since being racially abused by Valencia fans in May, was occasionally whistled by Athletic supporters.

The forward made way in the final stages for another debutant, Joselu, whom Madrid loaned from relegated Espanyol, as Los Blancos saw out their opening weekend win with ease.

Paris Saint-Germain 0-0 Lorient

In France, Paris Saint-Germain kicked off their title defence with a 0-0 draw at home to Lorient on Saturday as Kylian Mbappe watched from the stands amid his ongoing contract dispute with the champions.

After a summer of flux at the Parc des Princes filled with new arrivals and Lionel Messi’s departure, it is the Mbappe stand-off that continues to dominate the headlines.

The France captain has refused to sign an extension to his PSG deal, meaning he can leave for free next year, with Real Madrid long seen as his preferred destination.

PSG want to sell him now and bring in a significant transfer fee for a player who cost 180 million euros ($198 million) from Monaco in 2017.

New coach Luis Enrique on Friday said he hoped a solution can be found, but Mbappe has not been allowed train with the first team and was left out of the squad to face Lorient.

Instead he sat alongside fellow 2018 World Cup winner Ousmane Dembele, who completed his transfer from Barcelona earlier in the day, as Luis Enrique handed debuts to six players.

Goncalo Ramos started in a new-look attack with Marco Asensio and Lee Kang-in, while Milan Skriniar and Lucas Hernandez began in defence as Uruguayan Manuel Ugarte lined up in midfield.

Neymar missed the season opener because of a viral infection, although the club are reported to be open to selling both the Brazilian and midfielder Marco Verratti if a suitable offer is made.

Ramos, who has joined on an initial loan deal from Benfica, nearly grabbed his first PSG goal inside 10 minutes when his bending effort was superbly clawed away by Yvon Mvogo.

Lorient captain Laurent Abergel hit the outside of the post from distance after pinching the ball deep in PSG’s half, but both sides struggled to create clear chances.

PSG controlled possession but lacked penetration until Fabian Ruiz forced another fine stop from Mvogo after latching onto Carlos Soler’s cut-back.

Ramos then glanced a header wide and Vitinha shot narrowly over as PSG had to settle for a point.

– © AFP 2023

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